Volume 1, Chapter 39: Since Ancient Times, Scholars Have Been Deceitful; Their Pens Are Like Sharp Blades That Pierce the Heart

Fan Xiu frowned and said, "Scholar Liu, why must you insist on competing with me?"

It was not that he was afraid of a poetry contest. If he couldn't write a poem, couldn't he just copy one? With thousands of years of Chinese history, there were countless excellent poems, but he truly had no interest in competing with Liu Wenyan. Could he not see that he was busy trying to make money?

"Yes!" Liu Wenyan sneered. "Do you dare? If you lose, you must voluntarily renounce your title as a scholar, admit that your literary talent is inferior to mine, and never call yourself an educated man again!"

"Fine, fine, fine." Fan Xiu spoke as if comforting a child. "You are right. I admit my literary talent is inferior to yours. You, Scholar Liu, have the talent of a top scholar; the title of the greatest talent in the Great Yin Dynasty belongs to you alone! Are you happy now? Please, leave quickly and stop interfering with my business."

Ying’s eyes widened in surprise. *Fan Xiu? He surrendered so easily?*

Liu Wenyan shouted angrily, "We haven't even started, and you’re already admitting defeat? Where is your scholarly integrity?" Fan Xiu’s perfunctory attitude made even a victory seem meaningless. He wanted to defeat Fan Xiu fairly and squarely!

Fan Xiu waved his hand impatiently. "Don't! 'Scholarly' is for you people; I never claimed to be a scholar! So, let's just leave it at that, Scholar Liu. Can’t we just leave each other alone?"

"No! I want you to compete with me!" Liu Wenyan demanded aggressively.

Fan Xiu sighed. "Scholar Liu, let's just drop the competition. I truly have no interest." With that, he began to walk toward the second floor. At the top of the stairs, Fan Xiu turned back and said to Liu Wenyan, "Let me leave you with these words: since ancient times, scholars have often been cunning, their pens like sharp swords that pierce the human heart. Studying is not meant for competing with others, but for cultivating one's character, managing one's family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world."

At the top of the stairs, Ying heard Fan Xiu’s words, and her body trembled. She was shocked twice by this simple sentence. *Since ancient times, scholars have been cunning, their pens like swords piercing the heart?* Was this how Fan Xiu saw those so-called elegant intellectuals? No, that wasn't it. The intellectuals in Fan Xiu’s eyes were those who cultivated character, managed families, and governed the world. What noble ambitions and ideals! That was the true scholar he recognized. His words were a mockery of the current breed of scholars—cunning, hypocritical, and fame-seeking. Was this the real reason he had abandoned his studies for business?

Fan Xiu arrived on the second floor with Zhao Yufei. Seeing Ying standing there in a daze, he asked with concern, "Why are you standing there?"

Ying stared blankly at Fan Xiu, trying to see through him, but she could see nothing. In his eyes, she could only see a clear, foolish, and innocent look. "It’s nothing." Ying quickly lowered her head and looked at Liu Wenyan downstairs, her eyes filled with contemplation.

"No!" Liu Wenyan, whose handsome, refined face was now full of panic, yelled, "You're lying! What cultivation of character or governance? You are just pretending to be noble! You are talking nonsense! You don't understand the spirit of our kind at all!" He had studied since childhood and always held himself in high regard. But Fan Xiu’s words had nearly shattered his composure. He had aggressively demanded a competition, but Fan Xiu’s airy dismissal made him look like a clown. Those last words about studying not being for competition—about scholars being cunning and pens being swords—nearly destroyed his scholarly heart.

The young man beside him tried to persuade him, "Scholar Liu, let's just forget it."

"Yes, Fan Xiu is completely unreasonable and has clearly gone astray. Let's find the education official to deal with him instead!" others chimed in. They could see that Fan Xiu was difficult to handle and utterly shameless.

As they helped Liu Wenyan away, he shouted back at Fan Xiu, "You are a hypocrite! You are not worthy of being a scholar! You are the disgrace of Zhiyuan County..."

Upstairs, Fan Xiu ignored Liu Wenyan and said to Zhao Defu, "Brother Zhao, Old Xing, let's continue."

Zhao Yufei looked at Fan Xiu with adoration. "Brother Fan Xiu, you were truly amazing just now! I saw that guy's face turn green with anger!" Watching the stars in Zhao Yufei’s eyes, Zhao Defu felt only helplessness. It seemed his little girl was truly lost to him.

After the meal, as Fan Xiu and Ying were preparing to leave, Zhao Yufei asked to go home with Fan Xiu to help him make cold noodles. Zhao Defu flatly refused. An unmarried girl running off to a man’s house without a matchmaker—if word got out, how could he show his face in Zhiyuan County? Zhao Yufei left with red, teary eyes, glaring at her father.

Sitting on the donkey cart, Ying teased, "Fan Xiu, it seems that little girl likes you quite a bit."

Fan Xiu immediately raised his hand and swore, "Liu Yue, my heart belongs only to your eldest sister, Xiao Ruoqing!"

Ying replied speechlessly, "Who asked you about that? My sister will never marry you."

"Huh? Why not?" Fan Xiu asked anxiously.

"Because... forget it, you'll know later," Ying said. Without Xiao Ruoqing's permission, she couldn't tell Fan Xiu that Xiao Ruoqing was the Empress. Besides, with Fan Xiu’s personality, if he found out she was the Empress and had deceived him, he would likely kick them out immediately!

"So mysterious!" Fan Xiu rolled his eyes.

Ying chuckled. "Your sister-in-law should be arriving, right?" They had agreed that Li Chuntao would come to the county seat in the afternoon to purchase raw materials with Fan Xiu. From now on, she would be responsible for that.

"She should be here soon. We agreed to meet at the Taiyang Grain Store. Let's go look for her," Fan Xiu said.

As they traveled toward the Taiyang Grain Store, Ying suddenly frowned and gave Fan Xiu a subtle nudge.

"What's wrong?" Fan Xiu asked.

"You go on to the grain store; I need to use the restroom!" Ying whispered.

"Uh, there's a restroom at the grain store too," Fan Xiu noted. But before he could finish, Ying had jumped off the cart and headed toward a nearby alley.

Fan Xiu muttered, "What’s wrong with her? I'll wait here."

Once inside the alley, Ying’s expression grew grave. She had felt someone tracking them. As the commander of the Blood Feather Guards, the ability to detect surveillance was instinctual. She didn't know if the trackers were from the Cheng family or enemies of Fan Xiu, so she hadn't told him, deciding to handle it herself. She would never allow anyone to find the Empress hiding in Fan Xiu’s home through her.

As she moved deeper into the alley, the pursuers circled around. By the sound of their footsteps, there were three middle-aged men, about twenty meters behind her. She didn't alert them, continuing deeper into the alley.

At a corner behind her, three fierce-looking men followed silently, their eyes filled with greed.

"Boss, the girl actually walked into the alley herself! Hehe!"

The one-eyed man in the lead said, "Our goal is the cold noodle recipe Fan Xiu has. We need to get that formula first."

"Boss, we know, but this girl is quite a looker. Let us have her first, then we can go find Fan Xiu!"

The one-eyed man narrowed his eyes with anticipation. "Fine. Move! Capture this woman!"